A Jacksonville man who authorities say is part of a recently dismantled street gang faces a possible death sentence after he was convicted of killing three people during a 2007 drug robbery.

Terry Antonio Smith, 22, was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder Friday in the deaths of Desmond Robinson, 24, Kennethia Keenan, 21, and Berthum Gibson, 21. The three were shot to death at a house on Ahmad Drive in Northwest Jacksonville.

Smith wasn't arrested until nearly two years later as investigators pieced together the case with witness statements.

Prosecutors said Smith's palm print was found at the shooting scene. The defense argued the palm print could have been there before the shooting and that police pressured people to implicate Smith.

The jury of nine women and three men was out for just under 2? hours Friday. The same panel is scheduled to come back next week to hear evidence as to whether Smith should be executed for the slayings.

Smith showed no emotion while the sentence was read. He stared down at the table where he'd sat for the four-day trial and ran one of his fingers along the edges of a folder stuffed with paperwork.

Smith also is awaiting trial on a separate set of racketeering charges after police identified him as a member of the 45th Street Gang in November 2009.

David Hunt

Two JU football players charged in felony battery

Two Jacksonville University football players were arrested on charges of felony battery after another student was chased Feb. 10 outside Club Rain at 945 University Blvd. N., then attacked at his dormitory, authorities said.

Bradley Burns, 22, of the 1200 block of Carlotta Road West, was arrested Wednesday and bonded out Friday, according to jail records.

Jordan Claes Dewhirst, 19, of Fort White, was arrested Feb. 23 and released a few hours later, according to jail records. Burns, a senior, is a defensive lineman; Dewhirst, a sophomore, plays defensive back, according to the Dolphins website.

Daniel S. Meyer, 19, told police he had bumped into Dewhirst outside the nightclub about 3 a.m. They exchanged words, he said, and Dewhirst came at him, as did other team members. Meyer got in his car and left.

Back at school, Meyer was thrown to the ground, punched and kicked. He ended up with broken bones around his eyes and sinuses, according to the police report.

A security camera video showed Meyer walking into his dormitory, followed by Dew-hirst and Burns, according to the police report.

JU athletic director Alan Verlander said Friday both players have been suspended indefinitely from the football program. Two other students are listed as co-defendants but have not been arrested, according to jail records. On Jan. 19, Dewhirst was arrested on charges of petit theft and giving a false name to police and on Feb. 24 pleaded no contest to both.

Dan Scanlan

Man faces 15 counts of possession of child porn

A 25-year-old Arlington man was arrested Friday on 15 counts of possession of child pornography after authorities raided a home in the 12000 block of Saverio Lane.

Christopher Michael O'Toole was booked into the Duval County jail on the charges, according to the state Attorney General's Office.

Child Predator CyberCrime Unit agents were working undercover online when they found someone trading images of child pornography over a few weeks in October. The images were tracked to a home off Monument Road. Armed with a search warrant, cybercrime unit agents and the FBI raided the home just before 8 a.m. Friday and removed one computer, according to investigators.

O'Toole was interviewed, then arrested.

Dan Scanlan

Court scrambles to find judge for murder case

The fate of a convicted killer remained in question Friday as court officials worked to get the case in front of a new judge.

Deangelo Thomas, 31, was convicted of first-degree murder last month in the April 2010 shooting death of Navy Chief Petty Officer David Gilbert, 40.

A jury recommended a life sentence but prosecutors were preparing to argue for the death penalty during a Friday hearing before Circuit Judge Jeff Morrow. Morrow, 56, died of an apparent heart attack Wednesday.

Duval County Judge Russell Healey was filling in as court officials tried to find new judges to try Morrow's cases. Healey said the case will have to be put in another courtroom. He delayed Friday's hearing until Wednesday in an effort to find transcripts of earlier proceedings.

Prosecutor Jeff Moody explained that judges have to be certified to hear death-penalty cases. He said prosecutors still intend to argue for the toughest sentence.

"We've thought of this as a death case from the start," he said. "The passing of Judge Morrow was sad both personally and professionally, but it doesn't change the facts of the case."

David Hunt

Man not seriously hurt when car struck by train

A car was smashed by a train Friday morning when the driver tried to beat it across the tracks at the Stockton and Dennis streets crossing in Jacksonville. But police said he wasn't seriously hurt.

Crews were called about 5 a.m. after the unidentified man tried to go around a barricade when the arms were down, police said. The slow-moving train collided with his sedan and pushed it about 100 feet.

David Hunt

FLAGLER COUNTY

Palm Coast man charged after robbery attempts

A 31-year-old Palm Coast man was arrested Friday on multiple charges after three pharmacy robbery attempts led to a chase that ended in an accident, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.

Travis Wayne Adkins of Ziegler Place is charged with aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer, aggravated fleeing, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident.

The string of attempted robberies began about 10:45 a.m. when a man pulled a gun on a Winn-Dixie pharmacist at Flagler Plaza on Florida 100 and demanded Oxycodone. He fled when he was told there was none. He did the same at a CVS pharmacy in DeLand about 11:30 a.m., leaving after he was told there was none there either, according to the Sheriff's Office. He then drove north to Holly Hill and robbed a Walgreens on Nova Road, the Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies saw the suspect on northbound Interstate 95 and flattened two of his tires with stop sticks after he exited onto Florida 100. He continued onto Belle Terre Parkway and tried to ram police cruisers until he spun, hitting two of them. Adkins was then taken into custody.